Ayaz says that while he was there, a couple from the neighboring house started asking Rani questions and slandering her, claiming that she had made up these stories. “While the woman of the house asked most of the questions, her husband, a lawyer, quietly added that it did not seem possible for Sivaprasad to do such a thing. The woman then called Sivaprasad’s wife and told him what had happened. The family – Sivaprasad, his wife, daughters and husband – had gone to Guruvayoor. His wife said on the phone that Rani had told him the other day that she wanted to go home and see her sick brother. We later realized that Rani had said this as an excuse to leave the house,” says Ayaz.

After Rani reached the police station, Ayaz’s female colleague Hasna arrived to help her communicate. Rani knew Odia and Hindi and Hasna helped translate what she said into Malayalam. Ayaz says, “Interestingly, when we arrived at the police station, the woman from the neighborhood was there and said she knew the police there.”

From the station, Rani was taken to Taluk Hospital for medical examination. It was 1 a.m. on October 17 when they returned to record the case. He was taken to a shelter at 4 a.m. and remained there until that day.

“This followed a medical examination report confirming that she had been sexually assaulted. He had no sexual history before this. He had fainted during the attack but woke up without clothes and a blanket covering him, feeling pain in his private parts,” says Sandhya, a lawyer.

CMID has also joined the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), a union for women in the informal sector that also deals with migrant workers. “These women have a network of agents, a vicious circle, consisting of neighbors or neighboring villages who take them to employers, negotiate salaries, and receive commissions. This woman (Rani) reached Kerala through a representative two weeks ago. This was his first job in Kerala,” says Sonia George of SEWA.

What surprised them all was the laxity with which the police handled the case after initial proactivity. After registering the case in the early morning hours of October 17, the police were unable to arrest the accused for days even after rape was confirmed. Sivaprasad, who has worked in senior positions in government institutions, is currently in a strong position in a private company. It is suspected that his influence may have delayed his arrest, giving him time to seek bail in advance.

“This also shows the vulnerability of the migrant worker population. Rani is a Class 6 dropout and neither knows the language nor many of the people here. At least he’s an adult. Many times minors are attacked and these cases are simply covered up. In Rani’s case, we were able to communicate with her constantly because she was home alone,” says Benoy.

Other attempts were made to dissuade Rani from filing the case or proceeding with the medical examination. Ayaz says that Amith, whom he knows from his hometown and who arranged a job for him, pressured him to withdraw his complaint.

Bigger problems awaited Rani when her phone was lost in the shelter house. “We got him a second-hand phone and a new SIM. We understand that he does not want to go back to his home in Odisha. Since the age of 12, she has been made to work in the house by her stepmother. He wants to find a safe place to work in Kochi,” adds Benoy.

Both Benoy and Sonia say that the state and all stakeholders, including employers, should be responsible for the problems of domestic workers. “In order to stop abuse against children, the State must take a stand against allowing child labor. There needs to be a system for migrant domestic workers to communicate with the women’s protection officer in the district,” Benoy suggests.